Rooted in Recognition: Indigenous Environmental Justice and the Genetically Engineered American Chestnut Tree

Abstract

The restoration plan for the American chestnut tree includes the potential wild release of a genetically engineered tree in close proximity to the sovereign Haudenosaunee communities of Central and Upstate New York. As such, inclusive deliberative frameworks are needed to consider the implications for these communities. Indigenous environmental justice highlights the importance of recognizing tribal sovereignty and Indigenous worldviews as foundational to more just environmental governance. This paper examines how the case of genetically engineered American chestnut tree highlights the importance of recognizing tribal sovereignty and Indigenous worldviews in considering a GE organism for species restoration.